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I thought the Witcher games do choice well-and they do, don’t get me wrong-but there appears to be about six genuinely different ways to do any New Vegas quest, on top of four specific ways to actually pursue the whole plot. I keep thinking I’ve broken the game somehow when I kill some random dude and a thing flashes up telling me a quest I’ve never even heard of has failed, but then realise that it really is a game in which you really can do anything and still progress. I can’t begin to imagine how much work must have gone into all that.

The only thing I think would be difficult to do would be to do a problem solving/pacifist plot line in which you use your words rather than violence as you would miss out on a ton of XP, and money from selling scavenged gear. That said I’ve been playing with PN at 66% XP rate so maybe if it was upped to 100 you’d get roughly the same amount of XP as I have now from just killing in plot scenarios. If you played it with an unlimited companion mod as sort of befits a more diplomatic approach you could probably get away with it.

If I were going Legion I would go close combat and specialise in shotguns, NCR I would go long range as close combat seems very much not NCR’s thing. Given the extent to which you are already apart from either faction I would struggle to really feel part of one or the other without emulating their combat style I think. Not many companions seem to like the Legion or have related quests either so there is that to consider.

Next play through I like the idea of being a ranger with strong survival/repair who makes their own armour and stuff who throws his lot in with the NCR.

I went lockpicking on the assumption that it would allow me to ‘see’ more of the game but given the nature of NV I don ‘t think this is as necessary as it usually is in other RPG’s where it tends to be an essential skill, as you can pickpocket or kill people with keys without it being a problem, as above. I don’t regret it but it’s not necessary or particularly exciting either I wouldn’t say.

The only thing I think would be difficult to do would be to do a problem solving/pacifist plot line in which you use your words rather than violence as you would miss out on a ton of XP, and money from selling scavenged gear. That said I’ve been playing with PN at 66% XP rate so maybe if it was upped to 100 you’d get roughly the same amount of XP as I have now from just killing in plot scenarios.

I once did a completely pacifist run of New Vegas, avoiding combat and killing no one. You do get less experience and money in the long run, but it's not really a problem. Money is mostly used for buying weapons and armour, which you obviously don't need. And skillpoints are very easy to come by, even more so since you can always use magazines if you need to pass a particularly difficult check. The lack of perks doesn't hurt either, since most perks are combat oriented anyway and those that aren't (Comprehension, Animal Friend) are available from an early level.

I definitely recommend trying it out for yourself. It's very different from just playing the game normally and coming up with alternative solutions to violent encounters is a lot of fun. More RPGs should let you be Ghandi.

Finished Valkyria Chronicles (戦場のヴァルキュリア -Gallian Chronicles-) on the Playstation 3 yesterday, so now it's back to the PC for a good while to tackle some of the other games lined up for this year. Valkyria Chronicles is an interesting and at times quite challenging game and definitely one I recommend getting if you have a Playstation 3. The mechanics are solid, the classes your squad consists of all have interesting pros and cons and the way the game handles its turn-based battle system works well. The anime style graphics mean the game doesn't look a day older than it did when it was first released in 2008. Unfortunately, the second and third game in the series were released exclusively on the PSP (with the third not being released in English at all).

Also having some semi-nostalgic fun by regularly doing a few online races of Trackmania United Forever, Stadium section.

"He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to
the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free". ~ Luke 4:18

Decided to play Driver San Francisco for a few hours. I can't get a feel for the cars, it doesn't help that I'm only ever in them for 5 seconds. The no shifting challenges are actually a pleasant change of pace.

True 'nuff about the soloing. My build's so overpowered - nine attacks per round - that I technically don't have to stop walking while I fight. Thankfully, this console cheating isn't killing the game - everybody still reacts normally.

Just wait until you get that to fourteen per round, especially if done with improved criticals on something with an extra large crit range.

Originally Posted by Nalano

'So far, everybody loves me 100% but every time I do something that offends them, since I can't do it without them present anymore, makes them tsunderes. "I love you I HATE YOU I love you again!"

The main companions tend to get along well. There are a few times when you have to take a side which will always piss off someone but not many. Now, if you get the other companion things become a bit more heated in a very one-way manner.

Just wait until you get that to fourteen per round, especially if done with improved criticals on something with an extra large crit range.

The main companions tend to get along well. There are a few times when you have to take a side which will always piss off someone but not many. Now, if you get the other companion things become a bit more heated in a very one-way manner.

Improved crits - which I do have, since mine is a weaponmaster build - don't mean much when the lion's share of enemies are undead, spirits and golems. Not that it matters, because nine attacks per round.

The main companions get along with with one another, but there's always the "-15 WTF hero?" moments that you have to watch out for, because you can't bank more than 100.

NalanoH. Wildmoon
Director of the Friends of Nalano PAC
Attorney at Lawl
"His lack of education is more than compensated for by his keenly developed moral bankruptcy." - Woody Allen

Still, Risen is fun at the beginning, but loses a lot of the fun very, very fast. The Witcher is the complete opposite and I was sad to hear you weren't able to push through the (admittedly very) annoying parts. Play with a playthrough or something, but try to power through the first game and then move on to the second, it's worth it.

Ugh. No. I would say that first chapter is actually the most interesting because it at least has some atmosphere, and it goes down the toilet really fast in favor of extremely boring city quests and "political" plotline. Also, I won't even comment on the ending. I guess TW1 was too boring for most people to finish, that's why they didn't get upset about it the way they got about ME3.

I managed to fuck myself over pretty badly in Dark Souls. I'm stuck at the second bonfire in Ash Lake, cursed, without the skill or equipment to farm clams for Purging Stones. After dying about 20 times, I decided that I'm probably better off starting a new character than trying to claw my way back through four zones with half my health. I put way too many points into STR on this character anyways.

You know it's kind of incongruous to roleplay a Death Is Permanent type game in a world where you are specifically given a Raise Dead power due to your zombieness. Torment almost goes out of it's way to show you that death isn't the end, unless you're one o them damn Dusties.

While I totally get what you're saying, it doesn't quite apply to my game as I am not against raising fallen comrades when in-game systems allow it. However, in my case Morte and Dak'kon were dead when I entered my tomb. Upon exiting they were no longer in my party and thus unable to be raised. I refuse to reload RPG saved games for situations like this. I accept them and move on.

I was sorely tempted when Dogmeat died, however. But then that's what gives these games their meaning for me.

For the people playing/who played Risen: How viable is a straight up melee character? I had a lot of fun a while back building up to a mage, but lost momentum. Largely because there was a huge period where I Was basically grossly incompetent since I had to save up my skill points and what nots to learn magic, but was still expected to win staff fights against highly trained fighters...

But I also noticed that combat became a lot easier once I had the ability to shoot magic.

Steam: Gundato
PSN: Gundato
If you want me on either service, I suggest PMing me here first to let me know who you are.

Decided to play Driver San Francisco for a few hours. I can't get a feel for the cars, it doesn't help that I'm only ever in them for 5 seconds. The no shifting challenges are actually a pleasant change of pace.

Who put driving in my car based puzzle game? I like it!

I enjoyed D:SF but didn't particularly like the car handling and physics. It may have something to do with the 360 and PS3 pads having analog shoulder triggers for gas/brakes, and my using a PS2 pad + usb adaptor + x360ce. Console ports often don't emulate analog controls well with binary button/key inputs. Red Faction: Guerrilla had terribly twitchy steering on a keyboard for example. The D:SF port is sub-par, but you can remove ESRB_warning.bik and ubisoft.bik to skip the intros, and there's an ENB mod to replace the post-processing lighting pass that the PC edition is missing (the prerendered cutscenes are a giveaway, the mod will make them overbright but improve the in-game lighting, and you can disable the bloom that it adds in the ini).

For the people playing/who played Risen: How viable is a straight up melee character? I had a lot of fun a while back building up to a mage, but lost momentum. Largely because there was a huge period where I Was basically grossly incompetent since I had to save up my skill points and what nots to learn magic, but was still expected to win staff fights against highly trained fighters...

But I also noticed that combat became a lot easier once I had the ability to shoot magic.

Melee is quite doable, that's how I played it and was able to get through to the end without any real issues. I didn't play a mage, however, so I can't compare. The standard gist with PB games is that melee has more of an advantage early on in the game, but mages can become pretty OP towards the end. Risen is likely the same.

Hmm, just tried A Valley Without Wind 2: Not feeling it. The class system seems like a nice solution to the whole "What spells should I take when all the ones worth using are either a whip or a spammable shot" issue, but I absolutely HATE the controls. Apparently my right hand doesn't have the muscles to use the arrow keys...

I'll probably give it another shot eventually and fiddle with the controls. See if the mouse controls can be set up to be like the original.

Steam: Gundato
PSN: Gundato
If you want me on either service, I suggest PMing me here first to let me know who you are.